Thread by @Raksha_Kumar

Anyone who knew about #Adani 's August acquisition of a minority stake in #NDTV and its open offer to take over the company, knew this day was coming. But, just like death, we were in denial until it came. 1/n

Dr Roy and Mrs Roy’s resignation from the holding company teaches us 2 things
1) It is tough as hell to run a media company in contemporary times, esp in India.
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2) How NOT to assume economic growth will last a lifetime while making financial decisions for a media (any?) company. Prudence should be priority
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Whatever your views on NDTV, it is undeniable that the institution had a great impact on Indian democracy for at least three decades. I was (like most 90s kids) introduced to TV journalism by reporters at NDTV - many of whom became colleagues later.
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If you were an English/Hindi journalist of a particular generation, you most likely walked the corridors of NDTV. In fact, at one point, it became so top-heavy, that it forced lofty journalist-entrepreneurs to venture out on their own. [@sardesairajdeep, Arnab etc]
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I think they each brought what they learnt from NDTV to their respective news floors. [I interned in @sardesairajdeep ’s CNN-IBN, where you were either doing things NDTV-way or were trying to avoid doing things NDTV-way]. Either way, NDTV had its impact beyond its offices 6/n

The HQ, where I worked, employed several elitist and snooty people. But for every such person, there were three from not-so-privileged backgrounds.
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Everyone had a voice. Debates were encouraged, journalism ethics were discussed and news was treated as a public service. At least until I was there.
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We thought about what word to use in a caption, which community are we giving a voice to, who would benefit from this news. That is what newsrooms are meant to do.
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I remember being unconvinced about the wording of a caption on a prime time show. It was a particularly news-heavy day, busy. But, my editor (although supremely irritated) did not stop me from voicing my concern. We debated. The word changed by the time news aired.
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NDTV was like a large family - there was bitching, “inbreeding”, gossip, scandals. Noses curled up at the mention of certain colleagues. Like I said, it was a big family. But one where nothing came above news. News told the old school way.
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The company had wives of politicians, husbands of company CEOs, daughters of civil servants and sons of senior army men. Nepotism? Perhaps. But, we could question their biases.
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I challenged @BDUTT about a particular news programme, it was not well-received. Six months later, she wrote a letter of recommendation supporting my application at @columbiajourn.
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That is what newsrooms are made of. Disagreements were never personal. Debating news was never off the table. At least in the years I spent there. Before my time, colleagues said, it was even better!
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When I worked there, the English news desk and the Hindi news desk were on the same floor. It was an open office. We heard what Hindi journalists discussed, they heard what we were talking about. The barrier between English and Hindi news felt lowered. By a few inches.
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Walking a few steps with @ravishndtv to the tea machine was like reading a good book. Lessons on Indian democracy in few short, poetic words. That's how you learnt on the job.
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@ravishndtv When I resigned, I wrote an email to Dr Roy. Of course, he didn’t know of my existence. But, I wrote anyway. “I was 5 when I saw you on TV. Thank you for introducing me to news, sir," I said. "I hope to do great TV journalism." Sadly, TV news is dead. Wish we could save it. 17/n

@ravishndtv NDTV - as I knew it - will be special to me, not because it was my first job out of college. Not because I choose to work there despite having offers of high salaries from other places. Not because I made life-long friends there.
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@ravishndtv But, because it gave me a purpose as a journalist. I woke up at 4 AM every morning for three years to get to office and tell 20 million people what they should care about that day.

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@ravishndtv I still try to find such a purpose today.

Tough as it is to accept, NDTV as I knew it, is no more.
Hope there is someone out there building a new institution that would change the course of Indian democracy.
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